![]() Despite the giant clunky computers and big hair, in its final season, The Americans’ close look at cold war politics seems current, as does its incisive look at the power and pitfalls of nostalgia.įor the past five seasons, we’ve seen how the Jennings family both adapts to and resists America’s cultural pull. Today, Russian-US relations are again dominating the media, and the rallying cry to make America great illustrates how many in the US are also yearning for a return to an indeterminate past. When The Americans first aired in 2013, the 80s world of politics was meant to capture a particular historical time period that seemed safely far away. This season’s focus on Elizabeth’s insistence on Soviet greatness, despite all evidence to the contrary, is particularly searing right now. The Russia of her dreams isn’t real at all it’s an imaginary place. Her memories of the motherland do not reflect any of the harsh realities she has had to endure since becoming a spy. Claudia and Elizabeth can introduce Paige to Soviet TV dramas, play Tchaikovsky records for her, and make bowls of zharkoye all day, but her experience of Russian culture is one of a foreigner dabbling in a new tradition, rather than someone who intuitively understands her ethnic heritage.įor Elizabeth, the Russia she grew up with also lacks a solid foundation in reality. ![]() As a born-and-raised American girl, Paige first thinks of food in terms of choices, not in terms of hunger. “That wasn’t an issue,” Elizabeth says, still smiling and clearly amused by her daughter’s question, which indicates the huge cultural gulf between them.
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